The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break
by TuitionalFlea33
Summary: Eruvyr returns to Imladris after a long absense, as he tries to return to the peaceful lifestyle, a reminder of his past comes to Rivendell as a spy and prisioner. char.Aragorn/Elladan/Elrohir/Legolas & others. Some angst. Not slash! Not MarySue!
1. A Brother Returns

**Author's Note:** No, 'Lord of the Rings' does not belong to me, it belongs to the legendary Papa Tolkien and his son Christopher Tolkien. Any character's you recognize are property of Tolkien; Elladan, Elrohir, Estel/Aragorn, Arwen, Glorfindel, Erestor, Elrond, Legolas, Thranduil, etc. -- any that you do not recognize are mine: Eruvyr, and others will be introduced later . . .

**Author's Note 2:** This is NOT a MarySue/JaneDoe story. I really don't like those, they irritate me especially when they involve Legolas falling in love with a dopey blonde, or Aragorn falling in love with anyone but Arwen.

**Author's Note 3:** This is NOT a 'slash' story. I also hate those. I don't like it whenever there are characters (usually male) who genuinly care about each other and would die for the other, I don't see why people always assume that they're gay or, at least, bi. My characters are NOT gay or bi, they just care about each other and are not afraid to let people know that.

**Author's Note 4:** On the Elvish -- I'm using the Sindarian tongue for any Elvish that you see. I'm taking lessons at _'thecouncilofelrond dot com'_ if anyone notices incorrect grammer in it let me know and I'll fix it. Also, for those of you who cannot read a smattering of Elvish yet, there are translations and pronunciations and the bottom, they are numbered.

Okay, now that we got all of that out of the way we'll get on with the story, hope you like it (especially since you just had to read though all the warnings/notes . . . .

**oOoOoOo**

**The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break**

(working title, might be changed later)

_I amar prestar aen._

_Han mathon ne nen._

_Han mathon ne chae._

_A han noston ned'wiltith._

**Chapter 1: A Brother Returns**

Elladan leaned against the railing of the balcony that was outside of his and his twin's chambers, but right now Elrohir wasn't there with his brother. Elladan didn't know where his twin was, but he guessed that he was probably laying an ambush somewhere.

Tonight their brother was going to come home after a long absense. Their father had given Elladan strict orders not to lay an attack for his returning son, but he had forgotten to include Elrohir in that order. So now, somewhere out in the glowing gloom, Elrohir was hiding somewhere.

There was a knock on the door at the entrance of the chambers, before it was opened. Elladan didn't turn to look, he could tell from the footfalls that it was Estel, his youngest brother. "Im gelir ceni ad lin, muindor-nin, Estel. I am happy so see you again, my brother," Elladan said, without turning.

"Mae govannen. Well met," Estel replied, before continuing, "Where's Elrohir?"

Elladan grinned, turning to look at his brother, "Eruvyr returns tonight."

"Then why are you, muindor nin, still here?" Estel asked.

"Ada forbade me to ambush or hinder our brother as he comes," Elladan said, disappointment in his voice, "But he forgot to mention Elrohir."

Estel grinned back, "I shall go join him."

"Namarie. Farewell."

**oOoOoOo**

Eruvyr trudged down the dirt path lined with the white stones that led to Rivendell. He was weary, and eager to return to the only home he had ever known. He had sent word to ada (4) that he was coming, but in the letter, he had begged his foster-father not to tell his brothers, Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel. He had no wish to undergo whatever they would plan if they knew when he was returning. He knew that they meant well, he himself had often done the same thing with Estel when Elladan and Elrohir had gone off and left them behind. Yet today and for as long as he could remember days previous he had been tired and yearning for home.

Ahead of him he thought he heard something, but he was still far from Elrond's house, surely his brothers hadn't already seen him. He continued on not thinking about them, he had told his father not to tell them, and he had explained why. He didn't even pause when he heard a twig snap. _'A roe deer,'_ he told himself.

"Ai!"

When Eruvyr heard the shout, he spun around, too late to avoid the mud being flung at him. "Daro i! Stop it!" he shouted as he ducked down, protecting his face. He heard two voices laughing as he raised his head. That, however was an unwise move, because for his troubles he received a ball of mud in the face, sending him sprawled out on his back.

He quickly sat up, wipping the mud from his eyes, but was tackled before he could completely wipe it away. "Daro! Daro!" he shouted, stuggling against his opponent. But he was losing.

When his opponent sat straddling his chest he said, "Nostach be Orch gaer. You smell like ten orcs."

"Elrohir, garich I dhôl goll o Orch. And you, Elrohir, have the hollow head of an orc," Eruvyr replied spitting mud from his mouth.

Eruvyr looked up at his captor seeing Estel standing behind him.

"Mae govannen, muindor-nin, Eruvyr," Estel said with a smile. "We have missed you.

**Author's Note: **Here's the elvish that I didn't translate in the text due to the fact that if felt forced and awkward.

_'ada'_ father

_'muindor-nin'_ my brother

**REMEMBER REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED, AND WILL INCOURAGE ME TO UPDATE SOONER!!**


	2. Warm Welcomes

**A/N:** I would like to thank my beta Elfsquire90 for reading this . . . Also sorry for the wait, school kinda attacked me but you get **TWO**(!) chapters this time :)

**oOoOoOo**

**The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break**

_I amar prestar aen._

_Han mathon ne nen._

_Han mathon ne chae._

_A han noston ne 'wiltith._

**Chapter Two: Warm Welcomes**

Elladan heard his brothers before he saw them; their laughter seemed to echo under the trees. Soon he saw them; one straight, black-haired, head, one of brown hair, and another of dark brown hair. And he couldn't help but laugh when he saw the mud streaked tunics and dirt smeared faces of his brothers.

"Mae govannen! Well met!" Eruvyr shouted when he heard his eldest brother's laughter. Then he rushed up the stairs to embrace his brother.

"It has been a long time, muindor-nin," Elladan whispered into his brother's ear.

"Indeed it has," Eruvyr whispered back before releasing his brother.

By that time, the other two had reached them. Elladan looked at them and said, "Erestor will not be pleased with you."

Elrohir and Estel just grinned at their brothers. "It was worth every bit of scolding that 'Restor will give us," Estel said with a mischievous smile.

"Though it would be even better if he didn't know that the muddy footprints are ours," Elrohir said, "I think it best that we change out of our soiled attire and bathe our hands and faces."

"Oh, and what makes you think that I would suspect anyone else besides the Peredhil children of such messes," said a voice behind them.

The four brothers spun to Erestor standing with his arms across his sky blue robes, looking with disdain at the filthy children of Lord Elrond.

"Forgive me, Lord Erestor, I had no intention of dirtying the halls of my father," Eruvyr said, his head lowered.

Erestor's brown eyes softened. "You will not hold the blame, Eruvyr, for it is not your fault," he said drawing the boy who'd once been under his charge into a tight embrace. As he released the dark-haired elf, his head snapped around to where Elrohir and Estel were trying to make good use of Erestor's distraction. "But you two," he said sternly, "will not be let off so easily. Your father will hear of this."

Estel turned along with Elrohir and said -- in a very grown-up voice -- "Don't you think we're a bit old for that threat to work, 'Restor?"

Erestor glared at the young human, "No, I don't. And as for being 'too old', don't you think that you two are a bit 'old' for mud fights, Aragorn?"

Estel hung his head and nodded. To Erestor he seemed shame-faced, but his brothers could tell that he was hiding a grin, to act ashamed was the only way to escape from Erestor and the young man had learned that many years ago, when he was still a very small boy, only newly arrived in Rivendell.

"You all may go," Erestor said with a sigh, he, of course, had seen through Aragorn's act immediately, but hadn't shown it.

The brother all began to depart for their chambers to ready themselves for the feast that evening which was being held in honour of Eruvyr. "Oh, and, Eruvyr," Erestor called to the young elf -- who turned to look at his once mentor --, "it is good to have you back."

**oOoOoOo**

After they'd washed, they all retreated to their chambers to change for supper. Eruvyr found his few belongings untouched and his dark blue robes still hanging in the wardrobe. He dressed quickly, feeling relieved to be safe once more. However, when he started to try to put the two braids in his hair, he found that he could no longer do so with ease; his fingers kept slipping. He was quickly losing his patience when he heard laughter behind him. He whipped around to see his three brothers there; the twins in brown and Aragorn in green. It was Elladan who had laughed. Eruvyr wasn't surprised that the twins had been able to sneak up on him silently, but Aragorn had never been able to achieve the stealthiest of an elf, even though he was silent to mortals.

"Need some help muindor-nin?" Elladan inquired with a chuckle.

Eruvyr glared at them individually, taking their grins as personal insults. "Yes," he replied, caving.

Elladan gave his younger brother a grin. "Go on, 'Ro and Estel, we'll catch up with you in the Hall of Fire."

The two left, leaving the other two brothers alone. Elladan deftly took the hair from Eruvyr's fingers and began to braid the hair back for his brother. "So, Eruvyr, where were you this time?" Elladan asked.

Eruvyr didn't answer right away. His father had sent him to gather information on what was happening in the far reaches of the world; he had been gone for several years. He had made friends, only to lose them again as he was forced to move on. "Far away, 'Dan, too far," Eruvyr said sadly, the face of one of his lost friends springing to his minds eye.

Elladan heard his brother's hurt in his voice, so he didn't push the matter. "Done," he said, tying a small sting around the braid's end, "let's go see ada."

Eruvyr nodded, his friend's face still hanging in his mind, but he pushed it away, he couldn't wait to see his ada. One reason was that he knew his mission wouldn't be over until his foster-father received teh report. However, the other part of him longed for the comfort that only a father could give to a son.

**oOoOoOo**

**A/N:** As for reviews . . . I LOVE THEM, I would like to get some more, _please_ . . . :D


	3. Ada

**A/N: **Okay, just to warn you, there is angst in this chapter, it wasn't really intended, I didn't intend to go in this direction at all, but Eruvyr & co. took the story away from me :( But here it is, if still feels a little awkward for me even through wonder beta reader said it read fine, I think its just because of the fact that I normally don't write a whole lot about emotions . . . Anyway, enjoy and (continued at the bottome . . .)

Oh, you also probably noticed that I'm changed the way I'm doing the translating of elvish, **example:** '_Lau. No.' _Lau means no, Elrond's not saying it twice, but I'm just putting the translation within the quote marks, I think it makes it easier. This was changed because of Lady Ambreanna's review saying that the numbers were very distracting, I will be fixing Chapter One soon . . . I hope . . . Anyway, I'm finally done here (there's more at the bottom) so _ENJOY!_

**oOoOoOo**

**The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break**

_I amar prestar aen._

_Han mathon ne nen._

_Han mathon ne chae._

_A han noston ned 'wiltith._

**Chapter Three: Ada . . . **

After the feast, while most of the elves were still feasting, glad that a son of their land had returned safely after a long absence, Elrond drew his second youngest son away. When he'd first seen Eruvyr, he'd been shocked, his physical appearance had changed certainly, his shorter hair, and stiffness being results of living with men for so long, he knew that these effects would fade with time. However, he sensed great changes in his son's heart, pain that hadn't yet healed, that would likely never heal, and would continue to bring suffering to its bearer until he passed. Eruvyr hadn't taken much part in the festivities, of course he'd spoken with the other elves of Rivendell cheerfully enough, but it was just a mask. As the meal had worn on, the elf lord had noticed his son drawing back into the shadows, with his brothers for comfort.

Eruvyr followed his father out of the Hall of Fire and to one of Elrond's private rooms. The room was warm with the fire that was burning brightly, Elrond gestured for his son to sit in one of the chairs that sat in front of the fire. Eruvyr sat down. He settled into the chair, his eyes glassy -- reflecting the fire's light. Neither of the elves said anything for a long while.

The moon had set by the time Elrond broke the cocoon of silence that surrounded his son. "What did you learn, ion-nin?"

Eruvyr looked his father with his solemn brown eyes. "It is as you suspected, Ada, the darkness is stirring again. But the men are feeling it too. In Gondor; they are building up their army, and training all their sons for battle; Rohan, too, is showing signs of unease; but none of them as much as the Haradrim." Eruvyr stopped there, closing his eyes, as if trying to concentrate, but he wasn't, he was remembering . . .

Ishtar . . .

"Eruvyr?" his ada's gentle voice broke off his remembering, the question prodding his son to continue.

Eruvyr opened his eyes, then -- staring into the fire -- he continued, "They have outposts among the Ephel Duath, the Mountains of Shadow, and they are watching, ever watching, the Land of Mordor, they see the stirrings, the darkness that begins at the ruins of Barad-Dur, and the smoke belched from the depths of Orodruin. The men of Khand and a few brave men from Near Harad have built cities in the shadows of the mountains; a few settlements have sprung up on the edges of the Sea of Nurnen, even though the water itself is poisonous. The men that live under the shadows of Mordor are dark men, with wicked deeds in their pasts, living far from the people who fear them and exiled them. Some evil men from the south have traveled as far north as Dol Guldur, on the southern edges of Mirkwood Forest where the Necromancer still dwells, drawing all dark, wicked things to him with a compulsion that they cannot ignore." He told all this is a dull voice, devoid of emotion making it seem all the more ominous.

"The Elves of Mirkwood still watch him, do they not?" Elrond questioned his son. There was no need to clarify who 'him' was.

Eruvyr nodded his dark head, "Yes, they do, but they do not like it. Legolas Thranduilion was on a patrol near there while I was poking around. I spoke to some of his men, questioning them. None wished to speak of the growing shadow, but one, Mebedir -- who had been assigned to watch over Prince Legolas, due to the loss of Prince Aran -- he spoke to me willing to me of the Shadow. He told me how they'd lost the eldest prince to its grasping hand. He also said that it hadn't grown over the past several decades, the corruption of the forest had not advanced any farther, but more men, orcs, trolls, and other unsavory creatures continue to pour into the fortress. Mebedir spoke of how none now wished to be given patrol duty, they stay far from the fortress but the trees whisper of the evil that lies there, and they sing lamentations for their brothers who have fallen to the axe to feed the dark fires that burn there."

This time when Eruvyr quit speaking, Elrond did not prod him to continue. He had heard the strain that was in his son's voice since he's spoken of the men of Harad. There was mourning in his voice, despair for those who'd fled to the fortress of Dol Guldur or dwelt under the Shadows in Mordor. He looked closely at his son, and saw the unshed tears in Eruvyr's eyes, and his clenched fists.

Eruvyr was determined not to shed tears in front of his father, resolute not to show any weakness, lest his father decide that he was too weak to send out any more. He was not weak, he didn't know why the tears were coming now, they hadn't come at the time, or any time since then on the long, lonely leagues that he had tread alone, under the sun and moon, with none to accompany him but the song of the grasses and all living things. He was frustrated that they had waited until now, when he was among friends and family again, where he was safe, and couldn't sleep or rest without fear clinging to every waking thought.

Elrond watched his son, surprised at his emotions. Eruvyr was always strong, a rock for those who knew him to lean on, a tower against the darkness, he had always been able to chase the unease that the Shadow cast over his brothers away, making them laugh, causing them to act like small elflings once more. Elrond secretly was glad that his sons weren't completely grown up, but he would never tell them that, because it was also amusing to watch his seneschal scold the twins, whom he viewed as adults.

Eruvyr felt his father's hand on his shoulder, silently comforting his son. He clenched his fists tighter, his fingernails beginning to slice into the soft flesh of his palms. He lowered his head, gritting his teeth.

"Ion-nin, what is wrong?" Elrond asked softly, not really sure that he wanted to ask that question. He was almost sure that Eruvyr would deny any emotional hurt, he also wasn't sure if his son would tell him, even if he did admit some injury.

Eruvyr's shoulders began to shake. He was furious with himself, but his father's heartfelt inquiry had broken down the lost barrier that was holding the tears back.

Elrond was now standing over his son, looking down at the dark head and shaking shoulders. Eruvyr then looked up. His face nearly broke Elrond's heart, yes, he had one. But he tried to hide it, to keep his sons and members of his household in check, sometimes it seemed as if he couldn't care about anything. He did care, he cared very deeply about the elves of his house, however, his children, he held closest to his heart, they were they only ones who could hurt him, but he never showed it. Eruvyr's face was sad, tear tracks now ran over his cheeks, while his eyes bore and indescribable amount of a mixture of pain and shame.

"Ada . . ."

"Imsi. I am here," Elrond said.

Eruvyr rose to his feet, looking at his father. "The Haradrim . . .," he began shakily. "They do not trust outsiders. When I first arrived . . . they hurt me," when he said those words, he felt his father stiffen, outraged that any mere mortal would dare lay a harmful hand on his son, "they didn't trust me. When . . . they no longer believed that I meant them harm, they let me go. They placed me under the care of Herod She'tan, a strong Amar, leader. While there his son . . . "here Eruvyr couldn't continue, his throat had closed up.

Elrond drew his son into his arms, he was really unsure of what to do.

"His son . . . Ishtar . . . befriended me. We became friends; I was, as close to him as I am to my brothers, but after a time I had to leave their land. Ishtar, had been assigned to watch me, and I betrayed his trust in me, and fled, to continue on. Later, I returned, and found him gone. I searched only to find that he had fled and fallen, been seduced by the Shadow," here he stopped again, drawing great, heaving breaths into his lungs. "My fault . . . ," he sobbed

"Lau. No," Elrond said to his son, "not your fault."

Eruvyr had his head buried in his ada's chest, his finger were tangled in his father's robes, seeking comfort like a child as he sobbed. Elrond wrapped his arms around his son, his chin resting on Eruvyr's head. "Ada . . ." he heard his son say, his voice muffled by his father's robes. '

"Imsi. Avo bedo, pan natha mae. Gweston. I am here. Do not speak, it will be all right. I promise," Elrond murmured soothingly to his son.

**oOoOoOo**

**A/N: **_(continued)_ Ah, and here were are, at the end of chapter three. How'd you like it? Do you like Eruvyr and the way that the other character's are portrayed? Do you like the new way that I put the elvish? Let me know through reviews!!


	4. Teasing

Okay, as always thanks to Elfsquire90 for her help on this, and the yoda grammar fixing. :)

And I just wanted to say that it might be a while before I get another post up here, because I've been suffering from a Tolkien withdrawal, mainly of my own doing (yes, I know, not a good idea) so I could work on my own fantasy story without stealing anything from him. So I'm re-reading 'Lord of the Rings' for the 11th time, I'm finally reading 'The Silmarillion', and I'm also reading 'The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien', and I will be re-reading 'The Children of Hurin', again. Mainly the reason I started this fan-fiction was to give myself a reason to immerse myself in Middle Earth again. I know, I know, I don't really need an excuse but there's so many other things I've been working on reading; all of Shakespeare's plays, 'The Landmark Thucydides', Polybius's histories, Livy's histories, and some Russian literature, so this story gave me the perfect excuse to set all that other stuff aside for a while and reunite with teh first book/land I fell in love with when I was 9. So sorry about any delays, but the posts might come faster as I reaquaint myself with the characters, but I dunno . . .

**A/N:** Just wanted to say something about Estel and Eruvyr's ages, (we all know that the twins are quite a bit older than both). Estel is about 23(?), so he knows who he is, he's already fallen in love with Arwen, hence his brothers give him gentle ribbing about it, but he's still young enough to be decidedly childish . . . And Eruvyr is thirty-one, in elf years, 145 in our human years, so still very young compared to the twins being somewhere in the 2,000 year range give or take a few hundred, (though don't tell them that they're old :) if you do they might just to forget their vows . . . ) in human years.

**The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break**

_I amar prestar aen._

_Han mathon ne nen._

_Han mathon ne chae._

_A han noston ned 'wiltith_

**Chapter Four: Teasing**

The next morning Eruvyr awoke with a groan. He didn't remember going back to his room after talking to ada, but he was there now. In addition, a gentle wind stirred the sheer curtains that covered the floor to ceiling windows, as a muted sun shown through.

"I see you're awake," a voice said.

Eruvyr sat up quickly and looked about the room; Estel was sitting in a chair in the shadows. "Estel," he groaned, "why are you here?" He wasn't ready to wake up, he'd been planning on going back to sleep when he'd woken up, before he even opened his eyes, he was thinking about more sleep.

"Seeing if you were awake," the adan stated simply.

Eruvyr raised himself up on his elbows and looked at his brother who was lounging into the chair looking like he'd been there for hours. "How long?" he asked.

"A sentinel or so," Estel said, grinning at the surprise on his brother's face. "Yes, I've learned some patience in the past years."

"I see," the elf replied, sitting up and stretching. "So, why, were you checking on me?" he asked with a yawn.

"'Dan and 'Ro, wanted to go out for a hike, they also want you to come," Aragorn said with a grin.

"Fine," Eruvyr said, suppressing another yawn, "Give me a few minutes to get ready."

Estel nodded before leaving the room.

Eruvyr groaned again, hiking with his brothers could be just that or it could become a drawn out adventure, he personally, was hoping for the former. He did not want to spend anymore nights sleeping on the ground after many years of doing just that, now that he had a choice he wanted his own bed. Quickly he donned on some day clothes; a cream shirt, tan breeches, a dark blue tunic, and his weapons. He hastily ran his fingers through his dark hair; looking in his mirror, he noticed that he still looked exhausted and ready for more sleep. Nevertheless, he was going to join his brothers on whatever adventure they were heading out on.

When he left his room, silently shutting the door behind him he ran right into Arwen. "Goheno nin," he said hastily, "Forgive me."

"It is already forgotten, Eruvyr," his sister said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Im maer. I'm well. And you?"

"I am well, muindor-nin. And happy to be here in Rivendell once more, among my family," she said and added after seeing Eruvyr's face, "Yes, even the twins."

"It would be my pleasure to stay and talk with you, my beloved sister, but I already have plans with 'Dan, 'Ro, and 'Stel," he said.

"I understand," she replied with a gently smile, "Belain na le. May the Valar be with you."

"And also with you," Eruvyr automatically responded before continued down the hall.

**oOoOoOo**

He found Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel standing in a loose circle in front of their father's house, with them they already had a horse saddled with supplies some supplies for their short journey. As soon as they saw him, Elrohir, Estel, and Elladan broke into identical mischievous grins. Eruvyr groaned inwardly, at times like these it was hard to tell that Estel was an Adan and the twins of the Eldar their appearances were so alike, they could very well be brothers.

"You sure took a while," Elladan said.

"I stopped to speak to Arwen," Eruvyr retorted, "And a few moments is not a long time."

The four were silent for a few moments before Estel broke the quiet by speaking. "Are we just gonna stand here, or are we going to leave?" the youngest of them said impatiently.

The twins laughed softly at their foster brother's lack of patience, it amused them as it always had. Eruvyr couldn't join them, because he still to was young enough to be impatient if preparations were taking to long and he was ready to depart.

"Yes, we'll be going, presently," Elladan said, then added, an evil grin finding its way onto his face, "Unless of course you want to go bid Arwen farewell?"

"Oh, u-pedo! Shut up!" Estel spat, irritation contorting his noble features as he poked his elder brother hard in the ribs.

But instead of them 'shutting up' this display of anger and embarrassment only made the three elves laugh harder. This resulted in Estel scowling even more, causing his brothers to laugher even more.

**oOoOoOo**

By midday the four brothers were deep in the forest they didn't bother remembering where they were, they knew the woods around Rivendell very well after wandering in them for their entire lives. Wherever they were, they would be able to find their way home easily if they so wished. Sometimes they even found it boring in the safe woods in the Valley of Imladris vast as they were and they would stray out into the forests that covered the slopes of the Misty Mountains for hundreds of leagues in either direction.

They had walked in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Eruvyr was glad to be able to walk under the shadow of trees in peace, to feel the Life of Arda filled with all the living creatures that Iluvatar and put upon her wide breadth. He was glad that he could walk now, just revel in the Life, and become one with the waves that flowed through Iluvatar's creation, instead of having to shun that oneness with the earth to stay alert of his surroundings, always fearing an attack. However, his thoughts and reflections were broken -- as were the twins -- when a despondent voice from the end of the single file line said, "I'm hungry."

"Estel, you eat too much," Elladan said from his spot at the front of the line without turning, "you'll get fat."

"No I don't!" Estel protested, "I'm still growing, unlike you prissy elves!

"Prissy?" Eruvyr said, turning to look at his youngest brother, only to be met by a slightly outraged expression.

"Well, if we're prissy, you're smelly," Elrohir said calmly. Eruvyr then guessed that this was a conversation that had been much repeated in the years that he'd been gone, even though it was new to him, it obviously wasn't new to the other three.

"I'm not smelly!" Estel half-shouted, he was irritated about the mildly amused expressions he saw on his two eldest brothers' faces.

"You've never had to stand downwind of yourself," Elladan teased, "I'm surprised you haven't noticed that we take care to always be up wind.

"U-pedo," Estel said weakly though there was still the force of anger behind it. He was tired of that particular joke, he knew that they were just teasing him, but it still made him angry.

The twins grinned and Eruvyr had to join in, not from the teasing, but from the fact that Estel was swiftly beginning to resemble a tomato with dark brown hair.


	5. Visitors

**The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break**

_'A thousand enemies outside the house are better than one within.'_

_--An Arab Proverb_

**Chapter Five: Visitors**

They continued for a little while longer until they reached a deep pool of water, where they'd always been going to swim since they were elflings. "So, 'Stel, do we eat first or swim first?" Elrohir asked his youngest brother since he was the only one that was very hungry.

Eruvyr couldn't help but grin at the look on Estel's face; it looked as if he was making a 'very' hard decision, his face was all screwed up, like he was concentrating, "Don't hurt yourself, just spit it out."

"Swim first," he replied, giving Eruvyr an irritated look, but then he grinned broadly.

The twins also grinned, then ran towards the water shouting, 'See you guys in the water,' over their shoulders. Estel disappeared into the trees; he didn't like disrobing in front of his brothers, due to the twins merciless teasing as he was growing up. They'd found beards and chest hair (even the few that their human brother had) amusing and hence they felt compelled to tease him about it.

Eruvyr stripped to his breeches where he was and left his other clothes with the ones that the twins' had discarded under a tree about ten feet away from the water, hoping to protect them from the splashes. Then he was plunging into the twins after the twins, relishing the rush of cool water over his skin. He enjoyed swimming as much as his brothers did, but if left to his own devices he would never swim. Being alone in water always unnerved him; it always had after his near drowning experience when he was a small elfling, when Erestor's healing skills were all that had held his Life to this world.

Ah, there was Estel, standing by the edge of the clear, bluish water, as if he was judging whether or not to actually get wet. Suddenly a 'wonderful' plan formed in Eruvyr's mind as he looked at the small cliffs that surrounded most of the lake. He slid under the water, taking care to do so when his younger brother wasn't facing him, and stealthily swam under the water until he could see his brother's wavering shadow on the sand beneath him. Then he burst out of the water, sending water everywhere and he heard Estel yelp in surprise, which let him know that phase one, was complete. When he stood, the water was now only up to the middle of his thighs and Estel was standing on the bank, scowling at his dripping brother.

Eruvyr smirked at his brother, further provoking him, so that when Estel threw himself forward to tackle his brother, Eruvyr was ready, and easily dodged the slightly wet adan.

He dashed out of the water and up onto the shore near to where the path that led to the top of the cliffs was. He only paused to make sure that Estel was following him. "Smelly!" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran into the trees. He continued to run and he could hear his brother blundering along behind him.

It was only a matter of moments before he stood a top one of the small cliffs at a seemingly dead end. He whirled around to face his brother whose face was contorted in irritation. Eruvyr just stared at Estel as he approached, making no move to run, if the human had been thinking straight, he would have noticed that something wasn't quite right.

Estel flung himself forward to smack his elder brother, but his quarry ducked under the blow, stepping backwards. Then his opponent swung forward with a punch. Estel didn't bother moving, he just twisted his torso slightly and seized a hold of Eruvyr's wrist. And that was just what Eruvyr wanted Estel to do. When the older man made no move to free his appendage, the younger looked him in the eyes, and only then did he notice that there was a mischievous gleam in those eyes.

Eruvyr twisted his own wrist slightly so that he could grab hold of Estel's in the same fashion as the other held his, then he stepped backwards, jerking his brother with him, his heels were now hanging over the edge of the ten-foot cliff. Then with a sudden movement he jerked Estel forward, wrapping his arm around his waist and flung himself and his younger brother backwards, off the cliff, sending them plunging into the water below.

When they hit the water Eruvyr released his brother, not wanting Estel to realize what was happening and take advantage of his better swimming skills to pull him down. Eruvyr burst through the surface of the water, gasping for breath, a broad grin on his face, he looked around, and met the twins' grins, but -- where was Estel?

Eruvyr looked around quickly, a sudden cold washing through his veins, where was his brother?? Panic began rising and he could see it on Elladan and Elrohir's faces, too. Then, he was jerked underwater with a strong pull on his ankle, with a quick gasp for air he was under the water; being pulled deeper by whatever had a hold of him.

Only when the dragging sensation ended did he realize that his eyes were closed. When he opened them to view the murky, sun-streaked water, he saw Estel's evil grin in front of him. 'That imp . . . ' Eruvyr thought. He was planning on smacking Estel and using him as leverage to return to the surface, but his lungs were beginning to burn. So he shot his younger brother one last glare before pushing toward the surface.

When he came to the surface again, he saw his foster brother several yards away from him, grinning like the loon that he was. He coughed expelling some water he'd swallowed during his impromptu immersion, this caused Estel to start laughing.

Eruvyr shot Estel a murderous look. Then spitting out some more water he said, "The smelly adan finally gets a bath, Legolas will be pleased."

Elladan choked back some laughter, it was true, whenever Aragorn was particularly dirty, and the blonde Elf carried himself with a martyred expression and air. All the while dropping thinly veiled comments that Aragorn should bath when he returned from the Wilds, before forcing his putrid presence upon his friends and family. However, Aragorn was always oblivious to these hints, obvious as they were, thus resulting in some buckets of freezing water being dumped on Estel while he was sleeping. Therefore, the human, of course, would feel the need for retaliation against his brothers and friend.

Eruvyr splashed some water in Estel's direction, letting his brother know that he didn't think he was worth the trouble, before swimming to shore. Revenge could be exacted later, when it was less expected. He stood on the soft sand and soaked in Anor's heat. Lying down on the sand, he stretched out, the white sand sticking to his wet torso and breeches. Closing his eyes, he lay contented by the water's edge, listening to his brothers' shouts and splashes. Soon he fell asleep, peaceful -- like a cat in the sun.

**oOoOoOo**

Two days later, when they were finishing the loop of their hike, Eruvyr decided to exact his revenge. They were setting up their last camp -- they would reach the Last Homely House around midday the next day -- when Eruvyr was planning.

"What are you going to do?" a voice interrupted Eruvyr's contemplations.

"What do you mean?" he shot back to Elladan, who was standing behind him, with his arms crossed.

"I know that look, and I bet little Estel knows it too," Elladan said, walking around so he could look his younger brother in the face, "It's your time-for-revenge face, so I wouldn't think about it when Estel's nearby. So what is it?"

Eruvyr eyed his elder brother suspiciously, "And why should I tell you?"

"I'll help, knowing you its something elaborate, much too big for just one person," Elladan said with a slight smile, "Anyways, I need to get him back for the slug incident."

"What slug incident?" Eruvyr queried, raising his eyebrow.

"Nevermind, I'll help," Elladan repeated.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Eruvyr said, then began whispering in his brother's ear, as an evil grin spread over Elladan's face.

**oOoOoOo**

When Estel rolled over his face towards the fire, the two conspiring brothers grinned. It'd worked and Aragorn hadn't woken up.

"What are you two grinning about?" Elrohir demanding, frowning -- he wasn't a morning person -- "Its too early to be smiling."

The grins on their faces broadened. Elrohir scowled, and then followed their line of sight, "Oh, sweet Eru. Why?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

Estel was very proud of his little stubble; manliness, was what he called it; the elves thought it was funny. He always kept it short but present, now, half of it was shaved away, giving him a comical appearance.

"Dunking."

"Slugs."

"The slugs, Dan, that was me," Elrohir groaned.

"Your turn will come, I know he helped."

Elrohir muttered a curse under his breath as he sat down opposite of his brothers. "You do know that he's gonna kill you, don't you," he said poking at the fire with a stick.

"Sure, but he'll have to shave the rest away, unless he wants ada to see him like that," Elladan said.

"And Arwen," Eruvyr added in a whisper.

Elrohir snorted and Elladan snickered.

"I'm not saving you two," Elrohir said waving his stick at his brothers, the point glowing from the embers of the fire.

"That's fine," Elladan said, "There's two of us and only one of him."

"But, he's angry, you're not," Elrohir pointed out, still tending the fire.

"Yeah," Elladan said, "but we're elves."

Elrohir shook his head.

Just then, Estel yawned and stretched, Elladan and Eruvyr watched expectantly as he rubbed his face. Estel's eyes widened in shock as he felt his face. As his eyes widened, so did his brother's grins and Elrohir just rolled his eyes. The realization dawned on him and he whipped his head to look at his grinning brothers. "You're dead," he snarled as he lunged at them.

Eruvyr managed to dodge his younger brother's mad lunge, but Elladan wasn't so fortunate, he and Estel were grappling in the dirt near the fire. Elladan gave a yelp, proof that when Estel got to Eruvyr, neither of the conspirators would be returning unscathed.

**oOoOoOo**

He could now see the roof tops of the houses of Rivendell as they began descending the trail that would lead them home. Eruvyr looked behind him past the pony to see if they were still with him. Elrohir was directly behind him, wearing a distinctly smug grin, Estel was following him. He had indeed shaved away the rest of his beard, and he was also sporting a bruise on his left cheek. Elladan brought up the rear; he was nursing a blackened eye. He, himself, had a bloodied nose, and his tunic was smeared with blood.

He knew as well as his brothers that the three of them would be in for a scolding from ada, when they returned, and that was why Elrohir was looking so self-righteous. They all knew the speech by heart. Why did they shed the blood of their brothers over trivial matters, when there was evil out there? And all men and elves wanted its blood spilt on the earth that the evil tainted. They'd heard it many times, but still it's made them feel deeply ashamed of their actions. They would still fight though they would, however, be subdued for several days or weeks after this incident, depending on how bad the scolding was.

All four of their heads jerked up when they heard the plaintive cry of a horn. They all looked at each other, worry etched on their faces, the punishment for their fighting all but forgotten, in the wake of that cry. That cry, they all knew what it meant, the elves hadn't heard in over 90 years, and Estel had never heard it. It meant that strangers -- enemies -- had come to Rivendell.

Moments later, they all stood in front of their father's house amid the crowd that had gathered there, waiting to see who or what, had entered their home. The four brothers pushed their way to their father's side, standing slightly behind him.

Eruvyr could see them now, there were two prisoners. The smaller of the two was held in the firm grip of Halfir, while the larger of the two appeared to be only partially conscience and was being held up by the brothers, Malrond and Mehldan. At the head of the small procession was Glorfindel, his hair gleaming in the sun.

They came to a halt in front of Lord Elrond. Glorfindel inclined his head then gestured for the smaller prisoner to be brought forward, so as to give the other a chance to fully regain consciousness.

Halfir half dragged the boy forward.

"What's your name?" Elrond asked, staring directly at the young man who couldn't be as old as Estel, he was probably only about seventeen winters.

"J-Jace," the boy stammered his blue eyes wide with fright.

"And why are you here, Jace?"

"Jus', followin' orders, sir," Jace said.

"Whose orders?"

"His, sir. And I don't know where he got his from," Jace said shaking his head, causing dust to fall from his dusty brown hair.

"And who is he?"

"I dunno, sir, he never told me his name."

Elrond nodded his head, signaling to Glorfindel that he was done with the boy. And Glorfindel in turn gestured to Halfir to take the boy away, to secure quarters.

Malrond and Mehldan dragged their man forward. He was conscious now, but he was keeping his head down. The boy had been dressed in the standard dull colored tunic and breeches, belt and cloak, but this one was dressed in richer colors, and they were of a southern style, not usually found north of South Gondor. Loose fitting breeches of a bright blue, and tunic of the same hue, then an outer tunic that fell below his knees was brown and weighted with leather and metal, there was also a dark blue head covering that was wound about his neck and had been yanked back to reveal his face.

"Name," Elrond demanded.

The man lifted his head.

Eruvyr sucked in a gasp.

The prisoner's dark hair, almond skin, and brown eyes were as familiar to him as his own brother's features were. He would know him anywhere, even with the dried blood on his face from a cut that was above his left eye, but here was the last place he expected to see him. A sick feeling flooded Eruvyr; he felt that he knew why he was here and who had given him the orders.

"Ada," Eruvyr said, moving to his father's side.

"Not now," Elrond snapped his gaze intent on the prisoner in front of him.

"Ishtar."

When he spoke that one word, his father's eyes snapped over to him.

"It's him, ada," Eruvyr whispered.

"Take him away," Elrond ordered with a wave of his hand.

Glorfindel gave his lord a strange and confused look, but left with the prisoner and his guards.

**A/N:**

**Elvish:**

Eru The One, God

Illuvatar The Creator

**Pron:**

Eru -- Air-oo

Eruvyr -- Air-oo-veer

Illuvatar -- Ill-oo-vah-tar

**1)**Eru and Illuvatar are the same person, he is God. Eruvyr means 'follower of God' much the same was as the name Christiane means 'a follower of Christ'.

**2)**South Gondor is to the south-east of Gondor, Its borders are formed by Ethir Anduin, Harnen, Poros, and the Ephel Duath. It is a debatable desert land abandoned sometime before the War of the Ring, so basically it belongs to the people of Near Harad.

And since I just learned today that Tolkien as he was writing 'The Lord of the Rings' didn't know who some of his character were until he met them. (ex: he says that he'd never been to Bree, and he didn't know who Strider was any better than the Hobbits) I just thought I'd say that Jace is one of those 'oh-hello-who-are-you-and-what-are-you-doing-in-my/Tolkien's-story people. I was writing and suddenly there were two prisoners, and suddenly I knew who this second one was and what he looked like. But I have no idea how he took up company with Ishtar or why, I don't even know where he came from, I just know that he's here now, but together we will get to know this new addition better.

**Okay, review time!!**

**Okay, I got three reviews for the last chapter, lets shoot for 6 this time. I'm almost done with 'chapter 6' (I'm on a roll) but I'm going to try to get another chapter up for my Robin Hood story 'Shadows in the Forest' I've been sorely neglecting it lately. So anyway . . . **

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	6. Shadows of the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Lord of the Rings' or any of the characters. The only things I own in the story are Eruvyr, Jace, and Ishtar and others that have only been mentioned in a fleeting. I wish I owned it, but I don't, it all belongs to the Tolkien Estate and Christopher Tolkien.

**The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break**

_"Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,_

_And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;_

_Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,_

_And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood;_

_Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st,_

_And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,_

_To the wide world and all her fading sweets: . . ."_

_-- William Shakespeare, an excerpt from 'Sonnet XIX'_

_"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self."_

_-- Aristotle_

**Chapter Six: Shadows of the Past**

"Eruvyr," Elrond said, sitting down in his armchair, "what are you going to do about Ishtar?"

Dusk had fallen about an hour before and Eruvyr was sitting with his father in his rooms. He had assumed that this was going to be a scolding when he was summoned, but it wasn't. "I don't know, ada," Eruvyr said looking at his feet. "I thought I might be given a chance to speak to him, to find out why he's here, so far from his home."

"You said, he'd fallen, do you suppose that has something to do with why he's here now?"

"I don't know, but I want to find out," Eruvyr said, looking up at his foster-father. _'And, yes, I think it has everything to do with why he's here,'_ he thought.

"So do I, but I don't think it's prudent for you to be the one to question him," Elrond said, his eyes reflecting the firelight.

"Who else would be better?" Eruvyr demanded, his anger rising, "He knows me, he might even still trust me, even if he doesn't, I was his friend, and I'd be a familiar face."

Elrond gave his second youngest son a look that told him to get a hold of his emotions. "I still don't think it best. You haven't seen him for two years, you don't know what he's capable, and if he's been under the tutelage of the Enemy, it'd be better if you didn't know." The words, _'And you're my son, I don't want to lose you,'_ didn't need to be spoken, both knew that they were hidden in the other words.

"A guard, outside the door, in case anything should go wrong," Eruvyr said between clenched teeth. He wasn't mad at his dad, in a way he was mad at Ishtar, but he was mostly mad at himself, it was his fault that things had ended up like this. He shouldn't have betrayed his friend; he should have found another way out of Harad.

Elrond nodded, fixing his son with a steady look.

**oOoOoOo**

That night Eruvyr slept fitfully, he was having dreams he hadn't had since he'd spent time with Legolas and the other elves of Mirkwood. Nameless terrors and pain half remembered and images that were forgotten the instant he awoke. Finally, he quit trying to fall asleep after he woke up the last time. He could see the faint glimmer of light on the horizons signaling that dawn was near, and soon, he would face his past.

As he started to think about it he began to pace. He didn't want to meet his past again, it was something he'd worked hard to put behind him. However, he needed to at least let Ishtar know what had really happened; why he had betrayed his trust, why he'd had to leave. However . . . would Ishtar understand, or would he be too blinded by hate and distrust. He swore, he couldn't take this any longer! He flung himself down on his bed, muttering under his breath.

"Eruvyr, are you awake?" he heard Arwen ask from the other side of his door.

"Yeah, come in," he said just loud enough for her to hear.

He listened to the slight creak of the door and the swish of Arwen's dress as she sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Lau. No, I'm not okay, Ishtar's here and I've got to face him."

Arwen was silent for a moment, "I'm sure if you explained it to him, he'd understand."

"No," Eruvyr said with an angry laugh, "he wouldn't not the way he was raised, not the way his people are, he wouldn't understand." He rolled over onto his back to look at her face. Her expression was slightly bemused but she also looked confused, he wondered about it for a moment, before remembering that only ada knew about Ishtar and the betrayal. "Nevermind," he muttered.

"No, Eruvyr, not 'nevermind', what do you think he'd understand?" Arwen said quietly. She looked at him one last time before silently leaving the room.

**oOoOoOo**

The sun was fully risen when Eruvyr rolled out of bed again. He hadn't slept again, he'd been thinking. Arwen was right; he had to figure out what Ishtar would understand. Loyalty was everything to his people and any minor infraction against a pledged loyalty of kinship or friendship was severely punished no matter what the reason, even if it was to save the other's life.

He quickly dressed in a plain outfit of a long brown tunic, a leather jerkin, dark green breeches and shirt; he still didn't know what he was going to say to Ishtar, he was hoping something would come to him over a morning meal with his brothers.

**oOoOoOo**

He found his brothers in Elladan's rooms sprawled on a few lounge seats that were positioned around a table that was laden with a light breakfast of bread, fruit, oil to dip the bread in, and some light red wine. When he entered and sat down the others went quiet.

"So, Eruvyr," Elrohir began, popping a grape into his mouth. "Do you know anything about that prisoner from yesterday?"

Eruvyr looked around at all his brothers; their eyes were on him and intent expression in their eyes. "The boy, Jace, never seen him before," he said, attempting to evade the question. As they continued to look, he took a small loaf of bread, broke it in half and began to eat.

"No not the boy," Estel said with a frown, "the man, the one ada sent away without questioning."

"After you spoke to him," Elrohir added pointedly.

"Oh, him," Eruvyr said then paused. He didn't want to tell his brothers about Ishtar and why the man hated him now. He did not want to see how they would react to the betrayal; there was no way he could even begin to imagine what they would think about that. "Ummm . . . I met him while I was in Harad," he said, looking down, purposely not meeting any of their eyes so they would not be able to see that was more to the story.

"Anything else?" Elladan asked quietly, watching his younger brother intently.

"Lau. No," Eruvyr said, looking at his eldest brother.

Elladan gave him a look that said they would talk about it later whether Eruvyr wanted to or not.

"Too bad," Estel muttered, munching away on an apple.

"Why? Hoping for a bit of excitement were we?" Eruvyr said with a teasing smile.

"Well . . . yes. You know me, I like things to be exciting, I want there to be action," Estel said, gesticulating with his hands, trying to convey his meaning in more than one way.

"Yes, we know you, the action-addict," Elladan muttered.

"Hey!" Estel shouted, flinging a pillow at his brother.

"Terror of all peace-loving elves in the valley!" Elrohir said, joining in on the game, as he leapt up striking a supposedly heroic pose. A pillow hitting him square in the face ruined the 'heroic' effect though.

**oOoOoOo**

Eruvyr now stood at the end of the hallway that led to the rooms where prisoners were kept. Those rooms were built into the valley's cliff wall on the eastern side. Inside each room there was a bed, a table, a chair, and a chest, the walls were bare except for a wall hanging of the valley. The rooms were lit by small-enclosed balconies that hung over sheer drop, sure death for any who wanted it. Nevertheless, there were also rooms that didn't have the balconies were prisoners were placed if they guards had any reason to suspect that one was going to jump. From the outside the rooms didn't look all that secure, they were only fastened shut with a length of elven rope tied into a half-knot.

Halfir stood between two doors, Eruvyr assumed that Jace was in one while Ishtar was in the other.

"Suilaid. Greetings, Eruvyr," Halfir said with a smile, "What are you doing down here?"

"Mae govannen, Halfir," Eruvyr said with a faint smile, "Q, Manen nalye. How are you?"

"I am well."

Halfir just looked at Eruvyr waiting for an answer to his own question.

"That is good," Eruvyr said, nodding. "I am here to see the prisoner."

Halfir stiffened, "Which one?"

"Ishtar," he said softly.

Halfir frowned, "That's the big one, right? The boy's name is Jace."

"Yes, the man. His name is Ishtar Her-ten, he's from Harad."

Halfir nodded, still frowning, "I'm not sure I should let you go alone, and Mehldan won't be hear to relieve me for another hour yet."

"That's all right, Halfir, I don't need or want a guard. I just want to speak to him; I met him once while I was on my travels."

Halfir's frown deepened. "All right, I'll let you in. But just remember I'm right here if you need me."

Eruvyr gave the brown haired elf an encouraging grin. After Halfir undid the knot, he stepped aside so that the second youngest Peredhil could enter.

He opened the heavy door hesitantly. He didn't really want to open it to see Ishtar inside. Eruvyr took a deep breath, filling his lungs with calming oxygen. He had to do this; there was no way around it. He knew it might end badly, and if it did, it was Eru's will. _'But it might also end well,'_ he told himself, allowing himself to hope.

He opened it the rest of the way, stepped in, and closed the door behind. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dimmer light of the room. He immediately sought out Ishtar catching his silhouette against the pale blue sky. The leaves outside were the bright green of early summer, they were ruffled by a warm breeze from the north. From here, one could see the Bruinen and the majestic waterfall that had a spray of mist at the bottom with a faint rainbow stretching over the shallow river.

Eruvyr stood silently taking in everything about the man he'd once called brother in, judging every small motion. Ishtar's stance was wide, facing out over the valley, he seemed to be at peace, but the tenseness of his shoulders told otherwise. His head was bowed, his hands were clasped behind him, and silent thoughts permeated the air. Eruvyr also noticed that they'd provided the prisoner with plain garments to replace his own -- which were taken, and would be returned if he was allowed to leave the cell -- a simple, long tunic of a dark green and close-fitting breeches of the same color.

Eruvyr cleared his throat.

Ishtar's head snapped around, his stance automatically lowering into a more crouching position and wider for a more stable base.

Inwardly Eruvyr shivered, he knew that all of Ishtar's weapons had been taken, but he'd seen the severe training that all amirs' sons underwent; brutal, cutthroat, but extremely efficient and resourceful. All of his weapons might have been taken but Eruvyr knew that he would have found something that could be used as a lethal weapon, something that appeared innocent. Moreover, that was why he was here.

Eruvyr dropped to his knees, bowing his head, looking at the cold stone floor.

He'd betrayed a loyalty, a respect, a friend, in Harad, he'd already be dead. So here, he was exposing himself to death, submitting himself to a law that was as ancient as any.

He knew that if Ishtar had hardened his heart, if he completely hated Eruvyr, death would be the only answer. But if any hint of forgiveness or love for his former friend still existed the Haradrim man wouldn't be able to carry through with a sentence no matter how much he wanted to.

Eruvyr listened to the shuffle of Ishtar's feet on the stone floor, a small grunt of surprise. "Look up," he commanded, his voice heavy with authority.

Eruvyr raised his head, looking Ishtar in the eyes. His breath painfully quickened when all he saw there was anger, hurt, and hate. He did not want to die, non of the Eldar did, but if he was staring Death in the face right now, he would accept it bravely; he wouldn't weep or beg, he would endure and he would see all those that he loved in the Hall of Mandos someday.

He bowed his head and listened to Ishtar's footsteps as he walked around until he stood behind Eruvyr. "Do you submit?" he asked slowly, quietly, his voice was barely over a whisper.

Eruvyr took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his heart -- and he nodded. _'I'm sorry, ada, but now he will speak.'_

He shivered as a strip cloth was wrapped twice around his neck. He felt Ishtar heave a sigh, and then the tightening began.

Eruvyr's hands jerked up seizing the cloth, pulling vainly trying to loosen it, but his mind was calm. He was accepting. Now Ishtar would tell his father everything that he knew about the Enemy, because now he would have no reason to be working for Morgoth's Gatekeeper.

He fought against his instincts, he didn't want to fight, if this is what it took, this is what it took. In addition, in some strange way he felt as if his betrayal was being forgiven even as he struggled to breathe. He felt that Ishtar was forgiving him. That this was the atonement that was needed for betraying him, for causing Ishtar's life to be forfeit, this was a switching of rolls. As it continued to tighten, Ishtar was dragging upward on the cloth, stretching his victim's throat, tightening the tendons, to help the strangling. By now, Eruvyr's lungs were beginning to scream, his body was beginning to panic and it was beginning to creep in around the edges of his calm, his back arched against the pain. His body's protestations grew weaker until he dropped to his knees again.

_'And thus passes Eruvyr Peredhil, Lord Elrond's son,' _Eruvyr thought grimly as he felt himself falling.

Then . . . everything went black and silent. However, as everything faded he thought he heard Halfir and Mehldan shouting and the ring of steel being drawn.

_To Be Continued . . . _

**A/N: **

Elvish: If an Elvish phrase is preceded by a 'Q,' it means that that particular phrase is not Sindarin, but Quenya, and the only reason I'm using Quenya is because I am unsure how to say that phrase in Sindarin.

**1)** I have to amend my statement on Elladan/Elrohir's ages, I said 2,000 give or take a few hundred, I was wrong, sorry. At the beginning of 'The Lord of the Rings' they are 2,998 and I cannot remember how old Aragorn was when he took the throne so I'm just going to say that this story is taking place about 70 years prior to canon, so the twin's are about 2,918 give or take a few years. Sorry.

**2)** Tolkien didn't say a whole lot about the Haradrim through he does give the reader the impression that they are like the people of the middle-east. I get their form of dress from the Bedouin of the desert and India. However, the honor, loyalty, betrayal stuff, I'm getting from Japan's upper-samurai class, but some of it is just my ideas on the subject.

Now . . . Its the moment you've all been waiting for . . .

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	7. Healing

**A/N:** I just wanted to say some of this chapter is a flashback, not how I originally planned it but I felt that I had to 'show' the relationship and loyalty between Eruvyr and Ishtar, rather than tell. Moreover, looking at the flashback, its switches point-of-view (P.O.V.) several times and quickly, the reason I did that was to try to emphasize that both of them were thinking about it. Also, just a warning, most of this chapter is from Ishtar's P.O.V., not planned but Ishtar can be persuasive if he wants to be.

**The Ties that Bind, the Bonds that Break**

_"We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them."_

_-- Epicetus_

**Chapter Seven: Beginning to Heal**

Eruvyr's first sensation as he began the laborious crawl back to consciousness was a burning, choking pain around his neck, and then there was the biting cold against the pain. He groaned as the pain and cold only grew stronger as he came back to the world.

"He's waking up," a voice said. Eruvyr's mind struggled to identify it. He opened his eyes to see where he was. Cendalen was standing over him, his silver-blonde hair tied back, due to his occupation as Rivendell's healer. Eruvyr concentrated on focusing on Cendalen's face, his mind was fuzzy and his vision wasn't much better. Looking he saw his ada's face over the healer's shoulder. He tried to smile but his body wasn't cooperating with him.

Cendalen saw the attempt, turned around and shooed Lord Elrond out of the room. This room was an alcove of the large healing rooms. It was small, only large enough for the bed he was lying on, a very small table, and a chair, and across the place where the fourth wall would have been there was only a curtain -- from floor to ceiling -- that could be drawn to block this small area off the main room, it was drawn now.

"How are you feeling?" Cendalen asked, seating himself on the chair.

"Sore," was all Eruvyr could manage, his throat felt constricted and swollen, and his voice came out raspy.

"That's only to be expected," Cendalen said nodding.

Eruvyr was about to ask 'why' when everything came flooding back, Ishtar, giving him his trust once again, and everything. "How come I'm not dead?" he asked quietly. Eruvyr wasn't sure that he wanted to know the answer to that question, because the answer could very likely be that Ishtar was dead at either Halfir or Mehldan's hands.

"Mehldan arrived to take Halfir's place and they thought they heard something, which ended up not being any sound at all. And that made them suspicious, so they entered and . . . saved you."

Eruvyr could tell that the Master Healer had been planning to say something else, but, instead, he had changed his mind.

Cendalen cocked his head listening to a disturbance that had just been aroused in the main chamber. "I'll check in on you a bit later," he said, rising and leaving, while drawing the curtain all the way across.

**oOoOoOo**

Elladan and Elrohir now stood by their father's side, and they were quiet now. The commotion that Cendalen had heard had been the two of them arguing. They now stood silent with silently outraged expressions.

"Will he be all right?" Elladan blurted out, his expression was now anxious.

"Yes, he'll be fine," Cendalen said, "He'll have severe bruising about his neck for a few weeks, and he might have trouble speaking for a week or so. There is swelling which was why it was a bit touch and go to start with, it was swelling too fast, but the ice is keeping it down, he'll have to be here for at least another week so I can keep an eye on the swelling." He answered all the questions that he knew would be asked as soon as he had answered the first one, and with the twins, the questions were always the same.

"Why's he not dead?" Elrohir asked.

Elrond shot the youngest twin a withering look.

"I mean, normally the windpipe would be crushed, why not," Elrohir said faltering, trying to explain his question and why he was asking it.

Cendalen looked at the youngest twin. "I don't know, but it wasn't . . . crushed. It almost seemed as the prisoner didn't really want to commit the deed."

**oOoOoOo**

Ishtar stared at the ceiling of the cell that those two elves had moved him into. This room only had a straw stuffed mattress on the floor and there was no light except for the small rectangle that came from under the door.

He knew that before he was just a prisoner, a spy from an enemy, now he was something worse, he had tried to kill one of their own. He knew that there was no conceivable way that they would understand why he'd acted as he had even if he tried to explain it and he wouldn't even if he was given the chance. It was required of him from his family, even though it went against the orders that the Master had given him.

The Master had charged him to bring back Eruvyr Peredhil, a son of Elrond Half-elven. The Master knew how much Ishtar hated Eruvyr after the betrayal that had caused him to be thrown from his Homeland and shunned by his family, and that anger had led him to the Master.

He rolled over onto his stomach; he would not be able to go back to the Master now. Even if he had killed Eruvyr, there was no way he would be able to return. In a way, he hoped that the elves would kill him, he'd have redeemed himself, at least he would have tried, he would be released. He would be released from his shame, he couldn't believe that he'd attempted to kill Eruvyr, Eruvyr was his brother, his best friend, he could not quite believe that he'd had the nerve to even try, let alone be able to carry through with it.

He turned his face towards the wall, away from the door. A single, solitary tear slides down his cheek. It was joined by second, and a third, then more.

**oOoOoOo**

A week had passed since the attack and Eruvyr had just been released from the Infirmary, his brothers were following him persistently, not letting him alone for more than a few moments. His ada had spoken to him several times during the past week and now he was giving Eruvyr his space. He had told his ada all he knew about Harad's culture and traditions, and had made his father promise not to execute Ishtar Her-ten, eldest of Herod She-ten and father of David Ish-ten, until he had been given another chance to speak to him. He had explained that now that Ishtar had attempted -- failed -- to kill him, that he would not be allowed by honour to try again. Moreover, Ishtar's life -- by Haradrim laws -- was now in his hands until the injuries that Ishtar had inflicted had completely faded.

He was now alone, finally having managed to lose Elladan, Elrohir and Berasyn, the young healer that Cendalen had assigned to watch the young elf. His refuge being the loft of the stables. He was nestled deep into the fresh hay; he was weary, partly coming from having to still sleep in the Infirmary rather than his own bed. He lay down, closing his eyes. His thoughts wandered idly through all his memories until they happened on the ones from his years in Harad, his friendship with Ishtar and the fierce loyalty that came with that friendship.

_**oOoOoOo**_

_The two young men rode wildly across the deserts of Harad, enemies close on their heels. The dark haired and dusky skinned man was Ishtar Her-ten, son of Herod She-ten Emir of Gazuld on the borders of Near Harad and Khand. The second, dark hair streaming out behind him, but pale-skinned like the moon and eyes of deep brown, rode hard behind his Haradrim companion. The Haradrim called him Isildan, the moon-man._

_They were fleeing from Dan Kartel's men. Dan Kartel's land in Khand bordered that of Herod She-ten's in Harad and the Border Houses of both countries were forever harassing each other. However, this time, Kartel felt that the Emir's eldest child and only son had gone too far. _

_The look on the men's faces was that of pure exhilaration, but the edges were fading with fear. They had entered the lands of Ishtar's father almost a league back, but they were still pursued. _

_Ishtar threw a fervent look over his shoulder and what he saw made the blood drain from his face. Kartel's men had bows, but that wasn't what made his face go pale, Isildan's horse was falling back despite his rider's desperate urging; Isildan was in the range of the bows._

_"Eruvyr!" Ishtar shouted his throat sore from desperate gasping for air. _

_He saw his companion's eyes look at him, fear settling down in the depths of those brown eyes. Ishtar never called his friend by his rightful name, Eruvyr, unless there was danger quite near, and that time was now. _

_**oOoOoOo**_

_Eruvyr turned from his half-standing position in the saddle to look behind, and he knew that Ishtar's fear was right. He felt the vibration of the bowstrings as they were released and the almost buried sound of the hiss of air as it rushed over the fletching of the arrows. He tensed. He knew he was well within their range; it just depended on how well their aim was. . ._

_The arrows thudded deep into the sand around but his stallion soon left that ground far behind, but he felt the thrum and hums as more were released._

_**oOoOoOo**_

_Ishtar was still turned in his saddle watching his friend and wishing that the thrice-damned-to-hell stallion would feel the danger that its masters were feeling. His gut clenched when he saw the first volley of arrows behind their flight, and -- to his extreme relief -- his friend was unharmed, for now._

_Then another volley was fired and to his horror, he saw one of the arrows flew true and thuds into Eruvyr's back._

_**oOoOoOo**_

_He couldn't breathe, and what little air he'd held in his lungs had been forced out by the impact. Pain flared violently around his consciousness, but he pressed it back, clinging to the saddle desperately. But his grip was slipping and he tumbled from the saddle._

_**oOoOoOo**_

_Ishtar watched as he friend fell, Eruvyr landed hard, but he did not move again. Ishtar reined in Ladans, turned sharply, to return for his friend. He watched the approaching guardsmen, knowing that he wouldn't escape, but turning back never entered his mind, he wasn't going to leave Isildan._

_He leapt from the saddle as soon as he was close enough to Eruvyr, so as to allows Ladans to run free, the Khandians didn't deserve such worthy beasts. _

_He drew his sword with a harsh ring, standing between Kartel's men and his friend. Within moments he was surrounded, he spun searching for an opening but all he saw was the razor sharp arrow tips aimed at him. _

_A new horse entered the circle, his bridal was trimmed with gold and the ring on the man's finger was that of Kartel's House. He dismounted and pulled the mask off the lower half of his face, his black eyes were fierce like those of a hawk. He was calm, relaxed even, but Ishtar figured that was because that if he even moved the wrong way, over twenty arrows would be imbedded in his flesh. _

_"Mar-Emir Ishtar Her-ten, I am Merktel, Captain of Dan Kartel Pircden's guardsmen" the man said, his voice cold._

_Ishtar just glared at the man. All of his muscles were tense and his head was beginning to ache._

_The man looked at Ishtar as if he was expecting an answer, but when he received none he continued, "We only want the pale one, you may leave, and we will let you."_

_Ishtar's eyes widened with surprise, this was not what he expected. "No," he said flatly, his eyes empty of all emotion. His stance lowered into a better fighting stance, he knew he wouldn't do much damage, but if he was going to die, he wanted to take that smug 'hragden' with him._

_"Then, we will take you with us. Lower your weapons."_

_Ishtar just continued the scowl, his eyes flat. Then he dropped to one knee and placed his ear near to Eruvyr's face and felt the stirring of air that meant that his friend still lived. He raised his head to look at Captain Merktel and nodded his head. Then he wound his fingers into Eruvyr's hair to show them that his gravely injured companion was the only reason he was surrendering. He closed his eyes as he plunged his sword deep into the sand in front of him._

_He remained frozen by his fallen friend; his eyes still closed, and listened to Captain Merktel bark out orders in Khandic that Ishtar did not understand. He didn't open his eyes or acknowledge anything until he was jerked roughly to his feet by two burly soldiers, and his hands were bound in front of him. However, he did not pay any attention to the three that were attending to him; he only watched how they were treating Isildan. Some of the men had suspended their cloaks between two horses and placed Eruvyr's limp form face down on it. _

_Isildan wasn't showing any signs of consciousness and he didn't take his eyes from his friend even as the three that were guarding him hoisted him into a saddle._

_**oOoOoOo**_

Ishtar jerked into a sitting position, his breath coming fast. He hadn't thought about that incident in years, it had been a painful experience for both him and Eruvyr, and he had tried his best to bury the memories and scars. He had thought himself successful until now, until this very moment. He didn't want those memories back all they brought him was shame and guilt.

He lay back down, trying to even out his breathing and calm his racing heart. He heard the guard outside the door shifting his weight then there was talking. Ishtar tensed. He didn't recognize that second voice, it wasn't that other guard. He rolled up into a crouching position as quietly as he could and watched the door carefully, straining his ears to hear any other sound. However, there was none, until he heard the bolt on the door sliding out of place.

A shiver passed through his body as the door slowly opened letting the flickering light of torches flood the small cell. In came the guard, holding a torch, his black hair gleaming and his gray eyes were in flames. A blonde elf followed him. Ishtar recognized the new elf. He was the one that had caught him and Jace; he had introduced himself as Glorfindel. Ishtar had heard tales of a golden-haired elf, who had slain a Balrog that held that same name, but this elf could not be the same, the Balrog-Slayer was a very ancient myth.

"Lord Elrond Peredhil, the master of this house and of this valley, wishes to see you," Glorfindel said, his bright blue eyes showing nothing.

Ishtar stared at the elf, his face was stern and set, but there was anger there, maybe even a hatred. He nodded and rose.

The dark haired elf went first, and Glorfindel pushed him in front of him. As soon as they were out of the windowless corridor, his brain started whirring with noting of anything that might allow his escape, or anything that might be used as a weapon. _'Stop it!'_ he commanded himself,_ 'whatever they want, they have a right to. Any punishment, you fully deserve.'_

**oOoOoOo**

Elladan sat next to his father in the Hall of Fire, his fists were clenched tight. Elrohir sat right next to him, his expression a carefully controlled calm but his eyes blazed with fury and hatred. They'd both seen how broken Eruvyr was and they couldn't bear it, this 'Ishtar' didn't deserve to continue to draw breath on the green earth of Arda. But that was why they were here, to decide.

Elladan looked about the room; Estel sat next to Elrohir's left, his face showing every fleeting emotion that the young man felt. Erestor was to his father's right, as was Saelbeth. There was an empty chair next to the one that Erestor occupied, that was for Glorfindel when he arrived. Many of the other elves that were dwelling in the valley stood silent anger on their faces, they all loved the Elrondions, troublemakers that they were, and they were well loved among the elves of Rivendell.

There was Mehldan, his eyes flat and angry; his shoulders were held stiff, behind him the prisoner.

To Elladan the prisoner was strange, he, himself, never having traveled any farther south than the realm of Rohan. The man's hair was a shiny black; his eyes were a brown so dark that they appeared to be black also, his skin was a dusky brown colour, almost olive-toned. Elladan watched the prisoner, his head was down, and his hands were fidgeting when he came to stand in front of them.

Mehldan took his place by the door beside his brother, Malrond.

**oOoOoOo**

Ishtar looked around the room, he kept his head down as he looked, the sheer number of elves, many of whom he had heard of was intimidated. The power of their auras crashed into him as soon as he'd entered the room, and it wasn't abating. The strength that was assembled in the room before him would have been enough to make Lar-Emir Farsil Mey-ten take a step back and his aura, itself, was almost overwhelming.

He was looking for one face in particular. Eruvyr's. Surely his former-friend, now-victim, would be present to see his would-be-murderer tried and sentenced. However, haradwaith's Isildan wasn't there, but he did recognize the lord of the house, Elrond, and the three men that sat to his left. The first two looked alike and akin to the Lord Elrond, and the other, the third, he looked almost human, but he'd seen those three with Eruvyr when Glorfindel had brought him and Jace in.

_'And thinking about Jace, where is he?'_ Ishtar wondered to himself, realizing that he hadn't thought about that fair-haired lad since they'd been separated at the beginning. A wave of guilt passed through him even as he struggled to suppress it_. 'Stop it!'_ he ordered himself again_, 'the boy's nothing to you, hired help, you expected him to die since the beginning. And remember,'_ he ordered himself_, 'how irritating it is when he endlessly talks about his sister, what's-her-name, Marii, and his sweetheart, Kathé.'_ However, as he thought about the boy's prattling that he'd always found so annoying, he found himself reminded if his own sister, Sofia, and the girl that he was supposed to marry, Soraya.

Tears began to form in his eyes. Soraya. He hadn't thought about her in ages, he'd buried his memories of her along with the ones of Eruvyr and thought that they'd been long dead. But, now, unbidden her image swam before his eyes; straight, black hair, glistening in the sun, light skin, warm brown eyes, her features were beautiful, he'd never seen her as anything but perfect. A smile, a flash of white teeth in a tanned face, a purple shenti covering her hair, her dress of warm orange and trimmings of purple.

One of the tears slid down his cheek, he hastily brushed it away along with the ones that hung in his eyes. _'No use thinking about them, Sofia, Soraya, you'll never see them again, fool,_' the voice in his head scolded him_. 'I know,' _he answered it, _'but, it still hurts.'_

**oOoOoOo**

Elrond watched his prisoner, he was waiting a few minutes to start, to allow the Haradrim man come up with an explanation. He didn't deserve to know that Eruvyr had already filled his father in on the details of customs and that the Lord of the Valley had shared this information with Erestor, Saelbeth, and Glorfindel.

He looked over at his sons, their emotions flaring, anger in the forefront, but fear was also there, though it was deeply buried. It hurt him to see them so angry, he had not seen Elladan and Elrohir so upset since . . . since they had brought their mother back, and she hadn't been able to heal, thus leaving Arda forever in favor of the Undying Lands. And little Estel, his sorrow had been deep when his mother had passed to the Halls of Mandos only three falls before, but this was something different, anger flaring, reaching towards the heavens, not plunging deep.

He looked back to Ishtar, ready to start . . . wait . . . were those tears?

**oOoOoOo**

Ishtar wiped his sleeve over his face, angry that the tears hadn't stopped, but his anger just seemed to make them flow faster. He glanced up and saw that the Lord Elrond's eyes were on him; he cursed and scrubbed his face over with one of his sleeves, then used the other to make sure he'd gotten all the wetness and snot that tears brought.

He took a shuddering breath, he was ready. Soraya and Sofia buried again, to be awakened on a later date the probably would never come for him.

**oOoOoOo**

Elrond rose, all noise stopped as all the eyes in the room fixed themselves on him. He cleared his throat and began, "We are here to decide what we are to do with Mar-Emir Ishtar Her-ten of Gazuld, who attempted to send my son to the Halls of Mandos." He was speaking in Westron so the prisoner could understand what was being said. A murmur of agreement met his words, now, for the hard part, "But a full sentencing cannot be made until my son has recovered enough to speak with him, and we learn of his true intentions of coming here."

He felt fury from his sons but a resigned anger from those who had not been told before hand. But it was to be that way, the beginning was to be expected, but he had to tell them of that promise now, so as not to meet opposition along the way.

He looked at his councilors Saelbeth and Erestor and gestured for them to rise, they would do most of the question asking, and he, as lord, would be able to concentrate on the answers.

Saelbeth rose first, his blonde hair contrasting sharply with his dark attire and even darker expression. His blue-gray eyes were fixed on the prisoner, as he opened his mouth to ask his first question.

**oOoOoOo**

The questions lasted for quite a time, and by the time he was taken back to his cell, his legs were weary from standing, his head sore from deciphering the more cryptic questions that he had been asked and having to give the answers in Westron. He knew the language well enough but under stress, he found it hard to form coherent sentences that said what he really meant, not just something close. His heart ached, in addition, he couldn't believe that he was feeling this way now, it'd been years, but it was resurfacing now, his humanity.

**oOoOoOo**

**A/N:** I apologize for the length of wait between posts but this chapter was difficult to write and 'real' life intervened. I try to pretend it's not there but as . . . ummm . . . I-cannot-remember-his-name-at-the-moment said, 'Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, its still there.' But that doesn't mean that I have to believe in reality, especially in this world. _/sigh/_

**Translations:**

_Lar-Emir_ = high emir (king)

_Emir_ = something akin to our nobles or state governors

_Mar-Emir_ = future Emir, or heir of an Emir

(Yes, I know that in previous chapters it was 'amir' but in my medieval history class we're learning about the history of Spain, in which we spend lots of time learning about the time that the Muslims controlled the country. And they use the word 'Emir' for a noble-type-person . . . anyways I decided to change it because I like the way that Emir looks and I'm kinda basing the Haradwaith on the Arabic people)

_shenti_ = a head wrapping, like a scarf, worn by women

_Dan_ = Khandian word for a noble

Isildan = isil + adan / moon + man * so it means Moonman, its Sindarin actually but the people of Gondor speak one dialect of Sindarin and I needed a name for the Haradwaith to call Eruvyr that defined him as different.

More of Eruvyr next time, maybe they'll actually say something to each other in the next chapter, I don't know though, they're both mad at me right now for different reasons_. // glares at characters //_ and as always _**REVIEWS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED**_ and they make me **smile. :D**


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